Four conference ago, I walked into Liberal Democrat conference as a delegate. I arrived on my own, not knowing many people and not really knowing what to expect.

This year’s conference has now come to an end. It was my fourth conference overall and my third time stewarding, so I thought it was a good opportunity to reflect on what conference looks like from the other side of the barrier.

When you attend as a delegate, you naturally see the debates, speeches, motions and fringe events. What you don’t necessarily see is everything that happens behind the scenes to make it all work.

That’s where the stewards come in.

There are people arriving who need directions, rooms to check, questions to answer and all the little things that need to happen throughout the day. It can be busy, but that’s part of what makes it enjoyable. You’re part of a team and everyone is there to help make sure conference runs as smoothly as possible.

Being a steward also doesn’t mean giving up your own conference experience. You still get opportunities to attend debates, fringe events and other sessions you’re interested in. With a bit of planning around your stewarding duties, you can still get along to the things you really want to see.

That’s important because we’re all there for our own reasons. For me, there are debates I want to hear, fringe events I want to attend and, of course, people I want to catch up with.

And the people are probably my favourite part of conference.

I’ve been lucky to work with a fantastic stewarding team, led by our chief steward Jodie. She does a brilliant job of keeping everyone organised and making sure the team feels supported.

Over the three conferences I’ve stewarded, I’ve met some brilliant people and made friendships that have grown beyond the stewarding shifts. There are people I might not see for months, but when conference comes around again, it’s like no time has passed.

Sometimes the evening can be just as memorable as the daytime programme. You can sit down with friends for a chat about the day’s events and end up talking about politics, life and everything else until much later than you intended.

That’s the thing about conference. The politics brings people together, but the friendships are what make it special.

Then suddenly it’s the final day.

The venue starts to empty. People say their goodbyes and begin their journeys home. The rooms that have been full of people for several days are cleared. Equipment is packed away, pallets are stacked and eventually loaded onto the lorry.

It is quite a contrast. A short time earlier, the venue was full of conversations, debates, laughter and people coming together from across the country. Then, almost as quickly as it appeared, conference is gone.

For the stewards, there is something satisfying about seeing that process through to the end. You have been part of making it happen, and then you help pack it all away.

Four conferences in, I now have a group of people I genuinely look forward to seeing whenever conference comes around. I’ve found a conference family, and being part of the stewarding team has played a big part in that.

So if you’ve never stewarded conference before, I’d encourage you to think about giving it a try at a future conference.

You get to see conference from a completely different perspective, meet people you might never otherwise meet and play your part in making the whole thing happen. And you still get to enjoy the debates, fringes and everything else that makes conference worth attending.

You might just find, as I have, that you get far more out of it than you expected.

* Barry Rhodes is a Liberal Democrat activist and student broadcast journalist based in Scotland. He has more than 13 years’ experience in radio and is currently studying Broadcast Production at the University of the West of Scotland, alongside his involvement in Liberal Democrat campaigning and party activities.